Today I was driving home from work and this butterfly fluttered by my car, and then in front of my car, and then into my car that was flying a lot faster than him. It took a second for me to realize that the little monarch, now not quite so kingly, was pinned directly against my windshield wiper.

And not just against the wiper – he was wedged firmly into the tiny gap in between the blade and the wiper body itself. I figured he was dead but wondered if he may have survived. In fact, the more I looked, the more I thought he may be still be kickin’.

But I was driving 55, and I didn’t feel like stopping for a little bug.

So I drove, and the wind blasted against my windshield as I increased speed towards Richmond. And as the wind blasted, the tiny orange wings of this little monarch fluttered so fast I thought they would rip off. It began to occur to me that this kind of force against such a thin fibrous membrane as that wing would be truly painful. But the thought was just a thought. Driving, getting home, my plan before the monarch hit my car, was the reality. A bug was not going to stop the plan in progress.

But I saw an antenna move. Or a leg. It looked like it moved because the butterfly moved it, not because of the wind. I stopped.

Walking over to the side of the car, I was impressed by the orange and black with white spots. I pulled up the wiper. I separated the blade from the body and gently – because I was caring now – drew the wing out of the gap. It was a weird moment. I felt guilt immediately as his wings stretched out in my hand and he sort of walked onto the hood of the car. I drove several miles with this poor thing being beaten by wind.

But he just flew away, as if nothing had happened. There was no damage, and it seemed there was no remembrance of the trauma. There was just freedom and life and flying again. And he flew.

Jesus said that God notices every sparrow that falls. We are worth more than sparrows. Indeed, as evangelicals we get the latter part and eat meat proudly and step on pestilent bugs every chance we get; we know we are above the animals, and we hate PETA for not knowing it. Yet Jesus here affirmed that God just gets life; he digs life. Life is beautiful in all forms because God made it so.

Sin-cursed as this world is, it is good to notice the sparrow, and the monarch, because God surely does. And your life is no different, especially when lived to the fullest for the God who made it beautiful.